Bitcoin Press Releases: Over 11 Bitcoin worth of digital currency has been paid out to writers over the last month who have contributed to OBITS’ Bloggers’ Club 500; the latest OpenLedger, OBITS and BTSR initiative. For a limited time, the club is still open to new members, who will earn valuable crypto assets that also generate […]

Regulators, banks and private blockchain consortiums aren’t particularly enthused about a public blockchain or distributed ledger providing the platform for banking or financial services, going by the common sentiment at an industry conference in London today. While they don’t want to go the way of bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies, the threat of the ‘uberification’ […]

In a report titled "Uneasy calm gives way to turbulence," BIS chief Claudio Borio warns that 2016 is off to a terrible start that is really freaking out the central banks.

"The tension between the markets' tranquility and the underlying economic vulnerabilities had to be resolved at some point," Borio said. "In the recent quarter, we may have been witnessing the beginning of its resolution."

The BI Intelligence Content Marketing Team covers news & research we think you would find valuable. This topic was originally highlighted and sent to subscribers of the Payments Insider newsletter.

American Express might soon offer its customers some new incentives to use their cards.

The financial services company filed a patent in 2014 called "Third Party Digital Wallet Pay with Points" that would allow its users to pay with Amex reward points when making purchases with mobile wallets or other payment platforms. The patent was released last month, according to Nerd Wallet.

Amex has yet to comment on if it would actually implement the patent. But if it does become reality, then this program would maximize the value of reward points that too often remain unused, notes Jaime Toplin, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service.

Reward points often collect dust because card companies restrict the ways in which customers can use them. If you've ever seen your credit card company ask you to activate rewards that can only be used at gas stations and movie theaters for this quarter, then you get the point.

In fact, a 2011 study found that $16 billion in reward points are not redeemed each year.

But card companies do this because the points usually have restricted use cases because of the partnerships between card issuers and merchants. Amex's program is different because it would allow customers to use their points on any purchase, even if the merchant is not an Amex partner.

This program could ultimately increase Amex spending volume because it would incentivize users to make more purchases with their Amex cards in order to accumulate points more quickly.

Furthermore, this program could help Amex capitalize on growing e-commerce sales. BI Intelligence has forecast that U.S. consumers will spend $284 billion on their smartphones in 2020, which would represent 45% of all e-commerce sales.

The rewards program could provide another incentive for customers to use their Amex cards, which would strengthen the company's position in the e-commerce world.

This program, if it comes to fruition, bears watching in the next several months, as it is one more sign that the way in which customers pay for goods is changing. And as a result, companies are adjusting their approaches to figure out how to best serve the needs of their customers, whether it's through a rewards program or some other means.

But what else does the future of payments hold? How will consumers buy products five years from now? Will we reach for our smartphones before we reach for our wallets?

Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence, have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices.

Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play.

Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified.

In full, the report:

Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond.

Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers.

Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step.

Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP

Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem.

Apple has shut down what appears to have been the first, fully-functional ransomware targeting Mac computers. This particular form of cyber threat involves malware that encrypts the data on your personal computer so you can no longer access it. Afterwards, the hackers request that you pay them in a hard-to-trace digital currency – in this case, bitcoin – in order to for you… Read More

Bitcoin price has climbed back above $400 and 2700 CNY. Whether this is a new wave of advance, or merely a correction prior to more decline remains to be seen. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now and receive a $29 discount […]

Bitcoin Press Releases: pH Miners Inc. has officially launched two new, highly powerful miners for Bitcoin and Litecoin, two of the leading cryptocurrencies in the world. The company has developed the miners—Bitcoin Miner 25/THs and Litecoin Miner 1000MH/s—to enable users to more easily process digital transactions and quickly monitor the release of new digital coins. Each […]

Bitcoin Press Releases: pH Miners Inc. has officially launched two new, highly powerful miners for Bitcoin and Litecoin, two of the leading cryptocurrencies in the world. The company has developed the miners—Bitcoin Miner 25/THs and Litecoin Miner 1000MH/s—to enable users to more easily process digital transactions and quickly monitor the release of new digital coins. Each […]

The BI Intelligence Content Marketing Team covers news & research we think you would find valuable. This topic was originally highlighted and sent to subscribers of the E-Commerce Insider Newsletter.

Apple Pay has a comfortable lead in the mobile wallets market.

A new report from Piper Jaffray cited by Investors Business Daily reveals that retailers largely prefer Apple Pay over its major competitors Samsung Pay, Android Pay, and Google Wallet.

The report found that 44% of U.S. retailers either currently are using or have expressed interest in installing mobile wallet readers in their brick-and-mortar stores.

Furthermore, Piper Jaffray reported that 67% of U.S. retailers prefer to have Apple Pay readers in their stores, compared to just 18% apiece for Android Pay and Google Wallet. Only 8% of retailers prefer PayPal, while Samsung Pay came in last at 7%.

Apple Pay, which got a head start in the mobile wallet market and has a strong brand name behind it, continues to lead the pack and has helped increased in-store sales through mobile devices. The service has increased conversion rates and allowed customers to checkout through mobile retail apps, Quartz reported.

Several retailers have reported a boost in mobile commerce thanks to Apple Pay, notes Nancee Halpin, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. Staples has reported that its checkout times are 35 seconds faster on its mobile app with Apple Pay than when manually entering card information.

Instacart customers can checkout 58% faster on its mobile app with Apple Pay, while JackThreads said that its customers who use Apple Pay are 92% more likely to complete a transaction than those who do not use it.

The benefits of installing Apple Pay and other mobile wallets are becoming increasingly clear. The convenience and speed of these services benefits all parties involved, and the increasing adoption of these mobile wallets is changing the way consumers pay for their goods. But what does the future of payments look like?

Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence, have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices.

Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play.

Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified.

In full, the report:

Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond.

Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers.

Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step.

Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP

Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem.

Bitcoin’s growth – not government regulation – could kill bitcoin, according to one financial industry observer. David Yermack, chairman of the New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business finance department, told Fortune Magazine that bitcoin’s growth has jammed its payment system to the extent that some transactions take hours to process. He said tens […]

In what is quickly becoming a recurring theme among stock exchanges around the world, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) is exploring blockchain technology applications for securities trading and clearing. The foray into understanding blockchain or distributed ledgers, the technology that powers the cryptocurrency Bitcoin is further helped by the TSX’s recent appointment of crypto entrepreneur […]

The second day of the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Bitcoin Expo in Cambridge, Mass. featured speakers on a variety of topics ranging from technical issues like the size of the blockchain to social concerns like social inequities that technology perpetuates, according to Nasdaq. Hosted by the MIT Bitcoin Club, the third annual MIT Bitcoin […]